Monday 1st of March 2010
Online bingo fans celebrate bear's return
This week, there was a real blast from the past for online bingo fans everywhere.
It emerged that Paddington Bear has finally been snapped up to promote his favourite foodstuff - marmalade.
Northern Foods, owner of Robertson's Golden Shred, has reached a deal with creator Michael Bond that will see everybody's favourite Peruvian back on our screens once more.
A potted history of Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear was created more than 60 years ago but it may surprise online bingo fans to discover that he has never before advertised marmalade.
Although Northern Foods actually looked into a deal 18 months ago, they were unable to reach agreement because the bear was promoting Marmite at the time.
But now they have got their bear, Premier Food spreads manager David Atkinson told the Independent that he hopes the association will last for decades.
He said: "When you have got someone as well known as Paddington, the most famous marmalade lover in the world, why would you want to take him off again?"
Postman Pat, Popeye and Matt Bucky
As it happens, Paddington Bear is by no means the first cartoon character to become a brand mascot.
Online bingo lovers may remember that Postman Pat recently starred in a memorable TV ad for Specsavers, while Popeye the sailor man's image has been used by spinach makers for a number of years.
And of course we can't underestimate the popularity of Bucky Bingo's much-loved mascot.
Visitors to our website will need no introduction to Matt Bucky, the larger-than-life character who loves strutting his stuff on the dance floor.
With his huge afro, Bucky Bingo gold medallion, purple flares and platform shoes, Matt Bucky is pretty hard to miss.
He can even be found on the Twitter page @matt_at_bucky, where he chats away with VIP players and keeps them up to date with the very latest online bingo news.
